Interior wall construction systems using horizontal channel shaped beams as headers and footers together with manually fastened vertical studs is generally known. In common practice, the channel beams and studs of such systems are made of formed metal, typically steel.
An advantage of steel wall construction is not only strength, but also ease of assembly. For example, steel studs may be readily positioned into opposing steel footer and header channel beams (also sometimes referred to as tracks or runners) by means of retaining devices in one or both of the beams. Examples of such steel wall constructions may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,854,096 and 4,805,364 both to Smolik.
Steel wall constructions may also be configured to allow building movement such as during a seismic event without damage to the wall. In this regard, full-height non-bearing walls configured to accommodate vertical ceiling movement are known (e.g., dynamic head-of-wall systems), and are commonly installed beneath overhead structural members such as roof beams, floor beams, and the like. Examples of these types of steel wall constructions may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,203 to Paquette and U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,760 to Brady. In these exemplary steel wall assemblies a stud is vertically positioned within the header channel beam at a vertically aligned slot and a screw is inserted through the slot and into the stud. In these type of configurations, and upon movement of the building and/or overhead structural member (e.g., during an earthquake), the studs are able to slide vertically in the header channel beam as the screws slide in the slots (thereby preventing the drywall from cracking during earthquakes by permitting the wallboard to move up and down).
A disadvantage of these prior art approaches is that each screw must be precisely installed by a tradesman standing on a stool or ladder, which is both time-consuming and expensive. The fastening screw must not be installed too tight such that it could bind and prevent the sliding motion of the stud within the channel beam. The screw must also not be installed too loose such that it protrudes and inhibits subsequent wallboard installation.
Because of these shortcomings and others inherent to known steel wall assemblies and dynamic head-of-wall systems, there is still a need in the art for new and improved wall assemblies, especially wall header beams or tracks and related wall assemblies that accommodate vertical header channel beam movement relative to a plurality of fixed studs. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides for further related advantages.